


Fool’s Gold

by tenmillionotters



Series: Untold Tales of Tsushima [1]
Category: Ghost of Tsushima (Video Game)
Genre: Childhood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Comfort, Comfort Reading, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:13:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26214649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenmillionotters/pseuds/tenmillionotters
Summary: Something was not right. That much she could tell. “Let me…”, she didn’t even need to take a closer look, “Why do you have fleas, Miko? Did you play with the stray cats again?”“Ryuzo!”“Did he play with the stray cats?”“No he has fleas! He makes Miko itchy, but he likes to cuddle when we nap. Now we’re all itchy.”
Relationships: Jin Sakai/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Untold Tales of Tsushima [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1905826
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	Fool’s Gold

**Author's Note:**

> Okuni and Aki belong to &/lyrical_mimi

“Miko itchy.” 

She just stood there, blinking at her mother. Her little feet were covered in mud, her clothes in disarray. Every now and then she scratched herself. 

“Where have you been all day, Miko?” 

“I was playing with Aki and the boys!” 

_Scratch, scratch._

Something was not right. That much she could tell. “Let me…”, she didn’t even need to take a closer look, “Why do you have fleas, Miko? Did you play with the stray cats again?” 

“Ryuzo!” 

“Did he play with the stray cats?” 

“No he has fleas! He makes Miko itchy, but he likes to cuddle when we nap. Now we’re all itchy.” 

Okuni sighed heavily. She couldn’t let the kids go home like that. “Miko, go and get all of them. I’m sure they’re still out there playing.” They all needed a bath. Badly. 

Not understanding what her mother wanted, she joyfully ran outside, thinking she’d get to play more. After a while, she returned with her friends. 

The older kids seemed to understand that they were in trouble. They shifted nervously, Okuni only examined them. It was hard not to scratch themselves, they knew that she was waiting for it. 

“Is there anything you three want to tell me?” 

“No, Lady Okuni.” 

“Itchy!” 

“Miko be quiet-”

But there was no way around it anymore. “You’re coming with me. All four of you.” 

She had already prepared the bath, knowing her, the kids wouldn’t even try to put up a fight. Only Miko seemed rather enthusiastic as she instantly stripped down. 

“You know you can’t bathe fully clothed. Now get undressed.” 

Reluctantly they did, she made all of them sit down on small stools. One by one, they got washed and scrubbed before they were allowed to sink into the warm water in the bathtub. Miko went first, she was the youngest and smallest. Next was Aki. Then came Jin. Ryuzo felt uneasy, everyone was cleaned so fast.

He watched them soak in the warm water like three little monkeys. They seemed to enjoy doing nothing at all. 

“Oh dear…”, the poor boy looked like a whole mess, she wouldn’t enquire about his home life. All she knew was that he was a peasant. He wasn’t the type of friend she expected three nobles to have, but she was glad they never shunned him from their circles. 

Given that Aki pretended to be a peasant too, she wasn’t surprised. Their secret was safe with her. Just like all of these children were. 

Maybe she would have had more than one child, but after losing her husband so soon she just couldn’t bring herself to remarry. Miko was more than enough.

“You have beautiful hair, Ryuzo.”

“Thank you…” 

The poor child had wound spots from sleeping in odd places; even though he looked chubby, she could tell that some days he went without much food. When Miko first met him, she always snuck food out of the kitchen. Okuni scolded her, thinking that her daughter fed stray cats and wild animals. 

But in the goodness and honesty of her heart, she instantly clarified that she fed Ryuzo. Now she didn’t have to take the food in secrecy anymore. It was always prepared for when she left. 

He seemed to enjoy getting attention for a mother figure. They hadn’t interacted much before. He was shy, maybe even ashamed of himself. 

Ryuzo was tense, he glanced over at the other children. There was a heavy feeling in his stomach, he didn’t want to cry but he couldn’t help it. This wasn’t his fault - not his intention. He just liked being with them. 

“Sometimes things like that just happen, you know? Miko’s father always came back from his hunts with something different stuck in his hair. One time a large spider fell off his head and scared him so bad he didn’t sleep that night.” 

Hearing the boy giggle took a heavy weight of her shoulders. He should never feel bad for things that were out of his control. 

“There we go,” she rinsed off the last remainders of soap, “Go join the others.” 

She’d have to instruct the servants to wash the children’s clothes well. Patch up Ryuzo’s where they saw it fit. In the meantime, she would prepare food for the children. 

Okuni loved cooking. She knew she didn’t have to do it, but she cooked for her husband everyday, then for their daughter. Even after he passed on, she continued to uphold this tradition. Maybe it kept her sane. 

Now she was cooking for the children. Ah… she would never get used to cutting onions. They always made her cry. 

“Your mother is really kind, Miko.” 

“She can also be your mother! Then we’ll be brother and sister.” 

Aki carefully observed Ryuzo, shouldn’t be jump the chance? 

“It’s not that easy, Miko,” Jin patted her head gently. 

“Miko will marry Jin, so I can’t marry Ryuzo,” the little girl nodded to herself and then continued to entertain herself by floating above the water. 

It has been her father’s and his mother’s last wish, the last time they laughed when 3 year old Miko had eagerly declared she will marry Jin one day. The first and the last time that they told the children they had given it actual consideration. That they would be happy to see them married to each other one day. 

A year had passed since. They were perfectly content with their fate, not really understanding it. Yet, they were inseparable and would presumably always be. 

“It’s time to get out of the bath, children.” 

Miko nearly tripped when she was rushing out to show her mother how wrinkly she had gotten. But her mother caught her gently and started drying her off. The older children didn’t need any help. 

“The servants washed your clothes, they’re currently preparing them. For now you should wear these robes.” 

She gave them fine white silk to wear. It wasn’t anything special to Jin or Miko, so Ryuzo turned to Aki. “Have you ever felt something so soft?” 

They shook their head, but they knew it was insincere. Of course they knew. But Ryuzo mustn’t ever find out who they really were. 

Okuni gently brushed her daughter's hair, it didn’t take long. The same applied to Jin and Aki for some reason. How weird…

Ryuzo’s hair wasn’t used to get tamed with such an expensive brush. He thought that the fine comb would leave him bald, as it gently plucked away his hair. But it was nice to get taken care of. Lady Okuni was gentle, he hadn’t felt a mother’s gentle touch in years. It was a foreign feeling. 

She had skilled hands, tied his hair up in the same fashion as Jin’s. It was the first time in his life someone actually managed to tame his wild mane.

“Aki did my hair!”, Miko proudly announced while she showed off her neatly pinned up hair. 

“They’re too much of a brute to make something so beautiful,” Ryuzo protested but Aki was unfazed this time. 

Instead, they bowed deeply, “Lady Miko.” 

The little girl started giggling, she was way too young to understand that that was her title. Her place in the world. 

“Your clothes should be ready, wait here.” 

It didn’t take long for Okuni to return with a few servants. They dressed Miko, Jin and Aki. Even though Aki protested at first they gave in. Ryuzo was a little nervous, his clothes were nowhere in sight. Had she burned them? 

“They’re fixing your clothes, but I have something for you, Ryuzo,” she took the freedom to dress the boy herself, it looked as though she was taking care of her own child. He felt the others stare at him, he grew flustered. “It’s a gift, from Lady Miko.” 

“Miko bought it!” 

Even though she meant well, for a moment it stung. They weren’t the same. They never would be. These clothes probably cost more than he would ever earn in his lifetime. 

“Thank you, Miko.” 

The small lady waddled over to her friend, examining him, “You look like a prince.” 

“He’s fat enough to be one that’s for sure.” Ah, there it was, Aki didn’t lose their snide after all. 

“Shut up you bullfrog.” 

“Children.” 

Okuni couldn’t help but smile. Until now she hadn’t even realised how quiet their life was. These children brought life and laughter into their house. 

“It’s time to eat now, you can play afterwards.” 

The children followed the lady like little ducklings followed their mother. She had set the table for them, she heard a small gasp from Ryuzo. He had probably never seen this amount of food as one meal. 

“Eat to your heart's content.” 

And they did. Every time Ryuzo hesitated to eat more, one of the children took more food to encourage him to do the same. 

For a short amount of time, it felt as though the universe had been kinder to her. For a moment, she imagined her husband walking through the door, smiling and laughing. Miko would jump up and hug her father, afterwards introduce him to her friends. 

But the truth was that she wouldn’t see him again in this lifetime. 

So she enjoyed the presence of the children as long as she could. They wouldn’t be children forever. One day their ways would part, intertwine in ways they couldn’t predict yet. The sun would rise and fall for them. 

But for now, twilight was their friend. 

“Let’s go and play in the garden! I want to show you our koi fish.” 

“I would love to see them.” 

“Just don’t fall into the pond, Ryuzo-sama.” Aki grinned as they pinched him through his new clothes. 

“As your Prince I order you to be quiet.” 

“No, my Lord.” 

The children began laughing and chased each other through the estate and into the garden while Okuni watched on. If the kami were graceful enough, she prayed to them to grant these children long and happy lives.


End file.
